Over the weekend, Catholics attending Mass in the Diocese of Youngstown were informed of plans for parish mergers to take place within the year in several counties.

Youngstown Bishop David Bonnar announced the parish mergers are the next stage in the diocese’s pastoral planning process for its parishes, which comes after ongoing consultation with the Diocesan Presbyteral Council (made up of priests), most recently on Jan. 12.

The following parishes will begin the process of preparing for parish merger:

MAHONING DEANERY

● Austintown: Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish and St. Joseph Parish

● Boardman: St. Charles Parish and St. Luke Parish

● Youngstown: St. Columba Cathedral Parish, St. Edward Parish and Holy Apostles Parish

TRUMBULL DEANERY

● Niles: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and St. Stephen Parish

● Warren: Blessed Sacrament Parish, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish and SS. Mary and Joseph Parish

PORTAGE DEANERY

● Mogadore: St. Joseph Parish, and Rootstown, St. Peter of the Fields Parish

STARK DEANERY

● Canton: St. Peter Parish and the Basilica of St. John the Baptist; and St. Joan of Arc Parish and St. Joseph Parish

ASHTABULA DEANERY

● Orwell, St. Mary Parish and Rock Creek, Sacred Heart Parish

On Jan. 12, the Diocesan Presbyteral Council met to review the progress of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan, which was promulgated by the late Bishop George Murry in 2019 and has continued to be developed since the 2021 installation of Bonnar.

Diocesan officials said the regional plan for the six-county Diocese of Youngstown has resulted in structural changes aimed at developing effective ministries and supporting missionary activity.

Criteria include the number of parishioners and worshipers, parish finances, population shifts within the region, effective use of buildings and effective use of a limited number of priests and lay ecclesial ministers.

“As a result of the pastoral plan, almost all of the diocese’s 80 parishes are now part of a collaborative unit or exist as a multi-site parish. Since 2021, as a result of recommendations to Bishop Bonnar, there have been five instances of merger between parishes (where two or more parishes become one parish community),” according to a statement released Sunday by the Diocese.

At its Jan. 12 meeting, the Diocesan Presbyteral Council formally recommended that Bonnar merge additional parishes throughout the diocese that already are working together in ministry partnerships — sharing priests, deacons, diocesan pastoral associates, additional personnel, Mass schedules, and various parish programs and activities.

This recommendation is in line with continuing the efforts of the Diocesan Regionalization Plan that began several years ago.

Bonnar has accepted this recommendation and notified the relevant pastors and parishes to develop plans for parish mergers.

“These newly merged parishes will be aligned with the structure of other multi-site parishes in the diocese, with Masses and other parish activities continuing to be offered in multiple churches and campuses while ensuring more efficient operations,” Bonnar said in a statement Sunday.

The churches have been instructed to begin merger discussions, which are to be finalized within one year, according to a letter from Bonnar that was read before the start of Masses this past weekend.

Dennis Biviano, public relations and media specialist for the Diocese of Youngstown, stated “Everything is preliminary at this point. I can confirm we have parishes who are working together toward a merger,” Biviano said, noting parishes make internal decisions

“I am grateful to the Presbyteral Council for making this important recommendation, which will help ease the burden of pastors who currently need to oversee the administration of separate entities and attend multiple sets of meetings, including parish pastoral councils, finance councils and parish staff. The time is right for these particular parishes to come together and form one community. We are better when we are together,” Bonnar said.

bcoupland@tribtoday.com